Chapter 05 (Undivided Pakistan)

1) Constitutional Differences Between East And West Pakistan

The Bengali Muslims wanted Pakistan to be independent because they
wanted to escape the Hindu dominance. So, they supported the Muslim
League campaigns. Pakistan became independent on 14th August,
1947. The new Pakistan Constituent Assembly had one member for
every 1 million people making Bengalis have the majority in the
Assembly. However, once the Assembly met, it became clear who held
more power. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the governor-general of Pakistan
had the most power and he ruled Pakistan with the influence of the
Government Act of India, 1947. He appointed Liaquat Ali Khan as the
Prime Minister. After Jinnah died in 1948, Liaquat Ali Khan became more
important but the Assembly didn't gain any more influence. The problem
was that despite having more population than West Pakistan, East
Pakistan barely had any influence in the government of Pakistan. There
were only 5% of Bengalis in the administration and army and there was
only one Bengali senior officer. The Constituent Assembly decided that
there will be a two-chamber parliament - the lower house and the upper
house. The lower house would elect members based on population
meaning Bengalis would have the majority members. However, the
upper house would be based on provinces, making East Pakistan
outnumbered by the 4 provinces of West Pakistan. There were many
differences between the East and the West. The name Pakistan was
created on the basis of the 4 provinces of West Pakistan. The main
leaders of the Muslim League were from the West. The Pakistan
Movement decisions were made in the West. East Pakistan had barely
any influence in the government. When the draft constitution was
published in 1950, it was withdrawn due to the Bengali opposition. Later,
east and west were given parity and the second proposal gave too much
influence in the agricultural East Bengal and so the proposal was
withdrawn as it was unliked by the West.

2) Linguistic And Cultural Differences Between East And West

Pakistan
While drafting the constitution, the state language of Pakistan was to be
chosen. There were three options. Bangla was the first option since 56%
of the population spoke Bangla, the second option was Punjabi which
was spoken by 28% of the population and the third option was English
which was rejected. Almost no one in the West spoke Bengali and
making Bangla the state language would give East Pakistan a lot of
power and influence which was not accepted by the West. As a result,
Muhammad Ali Jinnah chose Urdu as the state language even though it
was only spoken by 3% of the population which was mainly from the
West. Muhammad Ali Jinnah warned the East about opposing the
decision. His main motive was to have a major rule in the Islamic world,
while the East just wanted autonomy to be freed from Hindu rule.

3) The Foundation Of The Awami League And The Language

movement
When Urdu was being decided as the state language, the East Pakistan
Muslim Student's League campaigned against Urdu and demanded
autonomy for Bengal. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was the leader, got
arrested in March 1948 for organising a protest. This created an united
opposition against the Pakistan government and the draft of the
constitution. In June 1949, the East Bengal Muslim Awami League was
created which was the first opposition party in Bengal. The Awami
League created a 42-point manifesto which was an alternative to the
constitution. They wanted provincial autonomy and wanted Bangla as
one of the official languages of Pakistan. As a result, the draft of the
constitution was withdrawn in 1950. However, in January 1952, the
Prime Minister, Khwaza Nazimuddin announced Urdu as the one and
only official language. This led to widespread protests in Bengal and a
student protest took place on 21st February, 1952. The police opened
fire at the protesters, killing at least seven students. Protest meetings,
rallies and processions took place all over the country. The government
enforced a curfew and sent the army into Dhaka. A protest against the
killings took place on 22nd February. On 23rd February, the Shaheed
Minar was built on the spot where the killings took place which was later
demolished by the police. In 1951, the Youth League was set up. Later in
1954, all the different groups came together and formed the United Front
whose purpose was to fight the provincial elections in March 1954. It had
a 21-point program which wanted autonomy and Bangla as an official
language. The United Front won 223 seats out of 237 Muslim seats and
Bangla was recognized as one of the national languages of Pakistan.
The victory of the United Front led to widespread protests against the
Pakistan government making the governor-general, Ghulam
Muhammad, to appoint a major-general as governor of the province. The
new governor dismissed the United Front and began to rule Bengal by
himself. In October 1954, Ghulam Muhammad dismissed the Constituent
Assembly when it tried to limit his powers and declared a state of
emergency in March 1955. He declared East Bengal as East Pakistan
and united the four West Pakistan provinces. This made it more difficult
for the East to gain influence. The new constitution was published in
March 1956. It stated that there will be a federal parliament with 150
representatives from the two Pakistans. The president would be elected
by the assemblies, Prime Minister and Cabinet. The provincial
government would have limited influence and the central government
would control most of the country's affairs. Elections were planned for
November 1957 but was postponed twice and later it never took place
due to Ayub Khan seizing power

4) President Ayub Khan

When Ayub Khan came in power, he declared all political parties to be
illegal and gave control to the military which reduced the influence of
East Pakistan since the military was mainly from the West. One good
thing was that the number of Bengalis in the civil service increased to
36%. Ayub Khan introduced the Basic Democracies to satisfy the
Bengalis who wanted autonomy. However this had little to no effect in
Bengal. Ayub Khan's aim was to make the president's role more
powerful and so the 1962 constitution was introduced. Political parties
were allowed to re-emerge in 1962 and to take part in general elections
to elect a parliament to approve the constitution. Ayub Khan won the
1962 election and a second in 1965, yet he didn't allow autonomy for
Bengal. By 1965, it was obvious that Bengal was becoming
progressively worse off and was being run for the benefit of West
Pakistan.

5) The Lahore Conference And The Six-Point Program

In 1996, the Lahore Conference took place and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
introduced the six-point program.
There should be a Federation of Pakistan with a parliamentary
government controlled by an Assemble directly elected by the basis of
universal adult franchise.
The federal government should deal with defence and foreign affairs. All
the others areas of police will be controlled by the provinces
There should be a separate monetary policy and tax for East Pakistan
The provinces will deal with taxation and revenue collection and would
get a share in the state taxes.
East Pakistan will have a separate militia or paramilitary force.
These points were highly opposed by the West Pakistan leaders,
specifically Ayub Khan who considered Sheikh Mujibur Rahman a traitor.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested in 1968 due to the Agartala
Conspiracy Case.

6) Timeline Of Events From 1947 To 1968

14th August Pakistan became independent
1947

March 1948 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman got arrested for organising

a protest and Muhammad Ali Jinnah died
June 1949 The East Bengal Muslim Awami League was created

1950 The first draft of the constitution was proposed but

was rejected
1951 The Youth League was set up

January 1952 Prime Minister Khwaza Nazimuddin announced

Urdu as the one and only official languages of
Pakistan
21st February The students protested and 7 students were killed
1952

22nd February Protests against the killings took place

1952

23rd February The Shaheed Minar was constructed

1952
1954 The United Front was formed

March 1954 Provincial elections were supposed to take place

May 1954 Ghulam Muhammad appointed a governor in East

Pakistan
October 1954 Ghulam Muhammad dismissed the constitution

March 1955 Ghulam Muhammad declared a state of emergency

September The provinces of West Pakistan combined to

1955 become one unit

November 1957 Elections were scheduled for this date

October 1958 Ayub Khan seized power

1959 Ayub Khan introduced Basic Democracies

1962 Political parties were allowed to re-emerge and to

take part in general elections. Ayub Khan won the
election
1965 Bengal was becoming progressively worse off

February 1966 The Lahore Conference took place and Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman introduced the six-point program
January 1968 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was arrested and accused
of the Agartala Conspiracy Case